Aircraft passenger seating arrangements having convertible seat units that have both a seat configuration, and a flat-bed configuration are well-known. These convertible seat units are typically provided in premium class (e.g. business class and/or first class) cabins of an aircraft. In the seat configuration, the seat unit typically provides a relatively upright seat, whereas in the flat-bed configuration, the seat unit tends to provide a substantially planar sleeping surface for supporting the passenger. The seat units shown in GB2326824 (British Airways), WO03013903 (Virgin Atlantic) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,871 (British Airways) are examples of such convertible seat units (often referred to as having ‘lie-flat’ seats) that have both a seat configuration, and a flat-bed configuration which offers improved comfort over a reclined seat. Lie-flat seats have been increasingly popular over the last decade or so.
GB2326824 and WO03013903 mentioned above are examples of so-called herringbone arrangements in a business class arrangement, in which the seats are orientated at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. In narrow-body (e.g. single-aisle) aircraft it tends to be desirable to adopt a relatively high herringbone angle/low pitch in order to efficiently use the available cabin space. However, herringbone layouts for narrow-body aircraft have tended to be dismissed within the aircraft industry as being impractical as it has not been possible to obtain desired pitch/angle whilst retaining a useable width/size of seat. Instead, there tends to be a preference for in-line arrangements such as those suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 7,918,504 (Thompson). U.S. Pat. No. 7,918,504 discloses an aircraft cabin in which there are rows of seat units, each unit having a forward facing lie-flat seat that faces in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cabin.
There is a need for an improved passenger seating arrangement capable of addressing the above-mentioned problems.